Osun REC urges public scrutiny over electoral process
By John Dike
The Resident Electoral Commissioner in Osun state Dr. Mutiu Agboke has called on the public and political stakeholders to actively scrutinize the electoral process to ensure transparency and fairness.
Speaking at a public lecture of the 2024 press week of the Osun State council of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Agboke, who was the guest lecturer talked on the growing mistrust in electoral processes of the country.
He specifically expressed concern over the recent shift in focus from monitoring critical issues on elections to targeting INEC officials without valid cause.
He encouraged citizens and political actors to question INEC’s procedures, closely monitor the actions and behavior of electoral officials, and hold them accountable for any irregularities.
The REC said, “In recent time, we discovered that political stakeholders have shifted their attention from the issues they are supposed to monitor, the target is now the officials of the commission and I felt there is no need for all this, unless you see that clearly a particular official has committed an infraction, an infraction that the commission should rise up to.
“The political stakeholders should shift their attention from thinking that they can rubbish officials of the commission, perhaps thinking that by doing that, they will have their way is not the way it should be. When you focus on that, you miss out monitoring the activities, you miss out the monitoring those officials to be able to know whether they are doing the right thing or not.”
He pledged INEC’s commitment to working alongside relevant authorities to maintain the safety and legitimacy of electoral activities in Osun State and beyond.
Earlier, Mr Femi Adefila, one of the guest speaker emphasized the necessity for increased public scrutiny and engagement in the process of choosing leaders in Nigeria.
Speaking on the persistent challenges affecting the country’s electoral system, Adefila highlighted vote buying as a critical issue that must be addressed through greater focus and vigilance.
Also in his comment, Kolapo Alimi, Commissioner for Information and Public Enlightenment in Osun State, advocated for a complete overhaul of the voter registration system, similar to the periodic registration conducted during national censuses.
Alimi noted that the current practice of merely updating the existing register, rather than conducting a thorough cleanup, has resulted in the inclusion of deceased individuals.
By implementing a fresh registration process every five years, he asserted that the true number of eligible voters can be accurately determined at the unit, ward, local government and the state levels.
